This T32 application requests NEI support to train pre- and post-doctoral fellows in vision research at the University of Michigan. The program is entitled, the "Vision Research Training Program at the University of Michigan," and it will contribute to training the next generation of vision scientists engaged in research on the cellular, molecular and developmental biology of the retina and retinal pigmented epithelium and on the molecular genetics of inherited ophthalmic disease. Support for four predoctoral and two postdoctoral fellows is requested. Support for predoctoral fellows is exclusively for students that have passed their preliminary exams, have formally entered Ph.D. candidacy and will complete their thesis research in the laboratory of one of the Training Faculty- Support will average 3 years. Support for postdoctoral fellows provides 1 year of transitional funding during which the fellow will apply for independent support, likely via an individual NRSA. Trainees will perform their research in the laboratories of the Training Faculty that are distributed across five basic science departments (Biological Chemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Physiology), two degree-granting training programs (the Neuroscience Program and Cell and Molecular Biology) and two schools (Medicine and Public Health). In addition to their individual didactic and laboratory training, each fellow in the Vision Research Training Program will receive formal training in research responsibility, participate in a reading/lecture/discussion course entitled "Fundamental Issues in Vision Research," and attend "Vision Lunch," a weekly seminar series at the University of Michigan that has been meeting since 1969